Kavli Nanoscience Institute

Leadership:
Julia Greer, Director

History and Mission:
Located at the California Institute of Technology, the Kavli Nanoscience Institute (KNI) emphasizes nanoscale research at the frontiers of electronics, photonics, quantum matter and technology, medical and bio-engineering, and sustainability. Since its inception in 2003, the KNI has been an intellectual hub and facilitator of cross-disciplinary research in the area of nanoscience and nanotechnology. It is the home of an advanced nanofabrication facility which helps support this research. The KNI has been critical to realizing exciting breakthroughs in nanoscale photonics, materials science, and biotechnology.

The KNI has assembled and operates a centralized nanoscale fabrication and characterization facility with support from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Kavli Foundation. The facility provides a suite of equipment made available to researchers at Caltech, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and many Southern California universities and industries. Within Caltech itself, there are more than 100 researchers spanning more than 30 faculty research groups across five academic Divisions. 

Additionally, the KNI—through its prize postdoctoral fellowships and its sponsorship of various institutional, national, and international programs—serves as the center of Caltech’s nanoscience community, bringing together scientists and engineers to exchange ideas and to develop partnerships.

Learn more about KNI: